YUMA, ARIZ. — This Saturday, September 19, 2020 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Visit Yuma is hosting the annual Dove Hunt Clean Up. Volunteers are still needed for this early morning clean up, and Visit Yuma is supplying the first 50 pre-registered participants with a hot breakfast burrito for their efforts.

“The annual Dove Hunt Clean Up is our way of expressing gratitude to the farmers for opening their fields for hunting season,” said Linda Morgan, Executive Director of Visit Yuma. Each year, volunteers comb the fields and farm roads to pick up shotgun shells and any trash they find. Volunteers will meet at Sprague's, 345 W. 32nd St., in Yuma, at 6 a.m., and maps, gloves, water, and trash bags will be provided. Each volunteer must supply their own transportation.

Known as the Dove Hunting Capital of the United States, the countryside around Yuma is prime hunting ground and brings hunters from all around the United States. The first dove hunt season started on September 1 and ended September 15. A second season begins November 20 and ends January 3, 2021. The first season allowed hunters to take white-winged doves and mourning doves, and the second season allows hunters to take mourning doves.

This year, tickets to the highly anticipated Rio de Cerveza Brew Fest will be given to each volunteer, 21 years and older, for their trash collection. With having to cancel last year’s Brew Fest due to COVID-19, tickets to this event will sell out quickly, so volunteering at the Dove Hunt Clean Up will get you a delicious breakfast burrito as well as a ticket to one of Yuma’s biggest events of the year.

The post-dove hunt clean-up is a perfect group activity to get family and friends together. Those interested in volunteering should contact Leslie, Leslie@VisitYuma.com.